


Adventures in Babysitting

by BeccaAnne814



Series: Tony Stark x Reader Oneshots [3]
Category: Iron Man (Movies), Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Angst, F/M, Fluff, Injury, cursing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-23
Updated: 2017-11-23
Packaged: 2019-02-05 12:16:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 12,015
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12794370
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BeccaAnne814/pseuds/BeccaAnne814
Summary: As a professional nanny, you'd seen your fair share of difficult children, and you were certain that there wasn't a situation you couldn't handle.  When you're called to the Avengers Tower at the last minute, you find that you're completely unprepared for what awaits you.  **Timeline:  Somewhere between The Avengers:  Age of Ultron and Captain America:  Civil War.**





	Adventures in Babysitting

"We're here," the Uber driver announced, drawing YN's attention away from her phone.

Taking a moment to gather her thoughts, she quickly looked out the window at the massive skyscraper he'd pulled up in front of. "Are you sure this is the right address?"

"You said 200 Park Avenue," he told her with a shrug of his shoulders. "This 200 Park."

YN was still sitting in the car, her eyes wide as she stared out the window. "This is Avengers Tower."

"You gettin' out, or what?" he asked becoming impatient with her.

"Sorry, yes," she said as she grabbed her overnight bag and opened the door. "Thank you."

"Sure, whatever," he replied as he drove away from the curb to his next fare.

YN had been planning to spend the weekend curled up on the couch with a good book, but when she got a last minute job offer that promised a five hundred dollar bonus if she could be there in thirty minutes, she quickly put aside her plans for a few days of peace and quiet and packed a bag. Now that she saw where she was, she realized why the salary had been so high. She'd never heard of any of the Avengers having children, and she was curious to see what a superhero's child would be like.

Pulling open the glass door she walked into the dimly lit lobby. The building seemed to be empty and for a minute she worried that someone had played a cruel trick on her.

Just as she was about to leave, the elevator door opened. A short, stocky blond exited and jogged over to her, his right hand extended. She recognized Hawkeye immediately.

"YN?" he asked as he shook her hand and began leading her back to the elevator. "Thanks for coming on such short notice. You have no idea how much we appreciate it."

"It's no problem, Mr. Barton," she told him as the elevator began its ascent to the seventy-ninth floor. "I've got to admit that I'm a little surprised that you would hire a random stranger to watch your children."

"Please call me Clint," he said with a wry grin. "And as for the kid. . .well, he's not exactly your typical child, and we're kinda in a bind."

"Is the team getting ready to go save the world again?" she asked.

Clint gave her a wink as the elevator stopped and the doors opened. "The details of the mission are classified, but pretty much, yeah."

"Wow," she said as she followed him off the elevator.

She was completely unprepared for the sight before her and stood frozen as her eyes tried to take in everything before her. The wall in front of her was made entirely of glass and beyond it she could see multiple tables piled high with unidentifiable objects, and various computers and machines scattered throughout the enormous room.

As impressive at the lab was, it wasn't the technology that had caught her attention, but the man hobbling around on crutches within. "Is that. . .?"

"Yeah, it is," Clint confirmed as a lithe redhead in a black catsuit exited from the other elevator.

YN was completely unprepared to be in the midst of such famous superheroes and she was struggling to wrap her mind around the situation she'd found herself in. Seeing Hawkeye in the flesh was one thing – he exuded an aura of calm that had immediately put her at ease. Iron Man on the other hand had thrown her for a loop and she was still trying to calm her racing heart when the Black Widow had appeared from out of nowhere. She was both exotically beautiful and terrifying at the same time. The former Russian assassin had a smile on her face, but YN wasn't fooled into thinking that she was as friendly as she was trying to appear.

"Is this really necessary, Clint?" Natasha Romanoff asked, her eyes never leaving YN's.

A mischievous grin came across Clint's face as he turned back toward YN. "Come on, Nat, we both know that hiring a nanny is the best option at the moment."

"I'm sorry," YN interrupted, finally finding her voice again. "I'm a little confused. I thought you guys needed me to take care of a child this weekend. Where is he?"

In lieu of an answer, Clint and Natasha turned and looked through the glass walls toward the eccentric billionaire that had yet to notice he had an audience. YN gazed at them quizzically before her eyes, too, focused on the man in the lab.

"You're not serious?" YN asked, realization finally dawning on her as she pointed toward Tony Stark. "I specialize in children, and that is definitely not a child."

Natasha raised her eyebrows and gave Clint a little smirk before turning back to YN. "Tony may not be ten, but he's nothing more than an overgrown man-child. Looking out for him this weekend won't be that much different than any of your other jobs: he needs to be reminded to eat, to take a bath, and to go bed at a decent hour."

"He's a grown man," YN said, trying to reason with them.

"He's also an injured man who needs to rest so that he can properly recover and get back in the field," Clint explained. "His leg is pretty busted up and Dr. Cho is in South Korea working on a project and won't make it back to New York for another week, so Tony is stuck with the leg brace and crutches. Normally, we leave him alone to work himself to death in the lab, but we're worried that he'll make himself worse while we're gone. What do you say? Will you do it?"

Natasha looked at the readout on the screen built into the forearm of her suit before adding, "I hate to rush this, but we're wheels up in five, Clint."

YN turned back and looked at Tony. "Does he know I'll be here?"

A look that could only be described as pure evil came across Natasha's face. "Nope. He'd kill us if he knew we'd hired a nanny for him."

"What?" YN asked in complete disbelief. "What I am supposed to tell him?"

"Tony's not that bad," Clint assured YN before turning to glare at Natasha. "He'll be mad that we hired you, and he'll give you some grief at first, but he'll come around. I promise."

"Time to go," Natasha announced as she pushed the button for the elevator.

"Are you okay to stay?" Clint asked as the doors opened and he followed Natasha into the car.

"I guess," YN said as the pair gave her a quick smile before the doors closed.

Taking a deep breath, she turned back toward the lab and watched Tony for a few moments. She was more nervous that she'd ever been in her life, but she knew that the sooner she approached the man, the better.

Steeling her nerves, she approached the door and pushed it open. It wasn't until that moment that she realized that the glass was also a soundproof barrier as the blaring sound of AC/DC pierced her ears. She dropped her bag and covered her ears with both hands as she looked around frantically for a stereo so she could turn down the volume.

As if someone had read her mind, the music was suddenly muted and YN heard the voice of an Irish woman speaking. "Pardon me, Boss, but an unidentified woman has just entered the lab."

YN looked around for the woman, but other than her and Tony Stark, there was no one else in the room. She felt a set of eyes boring into her and turned her attention back to the injured man.

"Hello," Tony said, not sounding the least bit friendly. "Who are you and how did you get in here?" Looking up at the ceiling, he asked, "FRIDAY, who is she and how did she get in here?"

"Agent Barton escorted her to this floor, Boss," FRIDAY answered. "Facial recognition has identified her as YN YLN. I'm currently doing a background check on her now."

YN continued to look around for the source of the voice, and coming up empty again she turned back to him. "I'm sorry, but who is speaking?"

Leaning on one crutch, Tony pointed toward the ceiling. "FRIDAY's my AI – artificial intelligence. I've answered your question, now it's your turn, sweetheart."

"Excuse my manners," YN said as she walked across the room to extend her hand. "Mr. Barton hired me to look after you this weekend."

A confused look came over Tony's face. "What? I don't need to be looked after. Everyone's here." Tony looked back up at the ceiling again, completely ignoring YN for a moment. "Where is the team, FRIDAY?"

"The team is currently in the Quinjet heading to Syria," the AI answered.

"Why wasn't I informed of a mission?" Tony all but screamed at the ceiling as he grabbed his other crutch and began moving past YN toward the door.

"Agent Romanoff placed an override on my system protocols that prevented me from informing you that Director Coulson had contacted the team with a new mission." FRIDAY explained as YN began to chase after Tony.

"Son of a. . ." Tony swore under his breath. "I'm going to kill her. I've told her to stop hacking into my tech."

"Mr. Stark," YN began, hesitantly placing a hand on his arm.

Tony turned back toward her in shock, having completely forgotten that she was there. "What do you want?"

YN jumped a little at his harsh tone, but tried to gain control of the situation by trying to think of how she would handle a belligerent child. "I realize that you're upset, but you need to try to calm down before you hurt yourself."

"I'm not the one in danger of being hurt," he said with a sneer. "When I get my hands on that little two-faced. . ."

"Please," she interrupted. "I realize that you're angry, but I don't think there's anyone else here but us. Why don't we find somewhere to sit and I can explain."

With a look of defeat on his face, he turned and headed back toward a small cubicle on the other side of the room. "Fine. FRIDAY, where are you with that background check?"

"It seems that Ms. YLN is a professional nanny," FRIDAY began to explain. "I've found multiple reviews on her work and she appears to come highly recommended by some of the most influential people in the city."

"A nanny?" Tony barked, turning back to glare at her. "Barton and Romanoff hired a damn nanny for me!"

"Trust me, I'm just as confused as you are," she explained as she continued to follow him to a set of chairs in what appeared to be an office. "Mr. Barton – I mean Clint – contacted me about forty-five minutes ago and offered me a large bonus to come on such short notice. I think they were just scared to leave you alone and ran out of options."

"I don't need a babysitter," he muttered angrily as he lowered himself into a chair. "How much will it take to get you to go away?"

"Mr. Stark," YN began before he interrupted her again.

"Mr. Stark was my father," he told her. "Call me Tony."

"Fine," she said with a sigh. "Tony. I'm not leaving, no matter how much you try to pay me. Clint hired me to make sure that you take care of yourself while the team's away. From what they implied, you have a tendency to isolate yourself in here and forget to eat or sleep. I'm only here to keep you on some semblance of a schedule. At least, that's what I think I'm here for."

Tony narrowed his eyes at her as he considered her words. "So, what? You're going to make me PB&J's and tuck me with a bedtime story every night?"

YN tried to keep the grin off of her face as she imagined Tony Stark as a whiny child that refused to go to bed. "I'm a pretty decent cook, so I think we can forgo the peanut butter. As for the bedtime story, we'll play that one by ear."

Her humor had his anger dissipating and he sat back in his chair to get a better look at her. He'd had his fair share of nannies growing up, but he couldn't recall his father ever hiring one as beautiful as her. Howard Stark had probably made a conscious decision to hire the oldest and ugliest women in the hopes that Tony wouldn't be able to charm them. Too bad his father's plan had failed.

As for YN, he wasn't sure if she was the type of woman that could be swayed by his charisma. So far, she'd stood her ground and refused to be bribed into leaving. He had a feeling she would take her job seriously and ensure that he stuck to a normal schedule. As much as he hated to admit it, it would probably do him good to eat a few home cooked meals and get a decent night's sleep. The painkillers he was currently taking helped to keep the demons at bay while he slept, but he knew that it wouldn't take much for him to become addicted. The alcohol was bad enough – he didn't need to add drug addiction to his list of shortcomings.

"Fine," he said with a wave of his hand. "You can stay. But. I work alone. You can bring me some food every now and then, and if I'm tired, I'll go to bed."

"No deal," she said, pursing her lips in defiance. "I have a firm rule about eating at a table without the distractions of technology. I'm not sure what kind of set up you have here, but you'll be eating with me either in the kitchen or the dining room."

His mouth fell open at her words and he knew in an instant that he was going to have a fight on his hands. He started to protest, but she continued talking as though he wasn't trying to interrupt her.

"And as for sleeping – there will be no crashing on the couch in here." She nodded to the pile of blankets and pillows currently covering the sofa in the corner. "I'm sure you have a bed around her somewhere, and I insist that you use it while I'm here."

Tony was finding it harder and harder to keep the smile off of his face, but he knew if his I-could-care-less façade slipped even an inch, she'd pounce and he'd be at her beck and call for the foreseeable future.

"You let me work in peace in exchange for meals in the kitchen and sleeping in my bed?" he asked for clarification. When she nodded her head in agreement, he rose from his seat and began hobbling back to the lab. "Good. Now leave me alone."

YN sat for a moment and watched him walk back to a workstation. He pulled up a digital diagram of what looked like one of his suits and soon his music began blaring again. Not willing to risk a headache, she walked out of the office and grabbed her bag from the floor before heading toward the door.

"Ask FRIDAY," he screamed at her over the screech of an electric guitar.

"What?" she screamed back at him.

She saw his lips move again, but couldn't make out his words. The music paused for a moment and he began to speak again.

"I said to ask FRIDAY if you need anything," he repeated. "She can guide you around the tower."

"Aren't you worried I'll end up somewhere I'm not supposed to be?" she teased.

"No," he said with a smirk. "FRIDAY's only programmed to allow guests in the common areas. I'm sure you can entertain yourself?"

He didn't wait for an answer as FRIDAY began blasting the music again. Taking that as her cue to leave, YN exited the lab and pulled the door shut behind her. As soon as the door closed, she was enveloped in a peaceful silence that she swore she'd never take for granted again. Not knowing where else to go, she pushed the button for the elevator and got on as soon as the doors opened.

"FRIDAY?" she asked, feeling ridiculous for talking to herself.

"Yes, Ms. YLN," the AI answered immediately. "What can I do for you this evening?"

"Can you tell me how to get to the kitchen?"

"I'm programming the elevator to take you to the eighty-second floor," FRIDAY explained as the elevator began ascending. "That floor houses the common area which includes a media room, the kitchen, and the dining room."

The doors opened and YN found herself staring into a large open room. At the far end she could see a wall of windows that overlooked the city. Unable to stop herself, she walked across the room to admire the view. It was fully dark now and the lights from the city dazzled her as she saw her home from a vantage point she'd never imagined she'd ever see.

Once the novelty wore off, she turned back to the room to explore. Knowing she'd have time tomorrow to enjoy the amenities the media room offered, she headed straight for the kitchen. She was starving and she knew that Tony must be hungry as well.

After a quick inventory of the pantry and refrigerator, she pulled out the ingredients she would need and began to cook. She'd been a nanny for some of the richest people in New York City, but nothing she'd ever seen before could top the state of the art kitchen she was currently using. Cooking here was like a dream come true, and she cautioned herself not to get too attached.

Once she was almost finished cooking, she asked FRIDAY to tell Tony that dinner would be ready in ten minutes. She had a feeling that he might need a little time to wrap up whatever he was working on, so to be on the safe side, she instructed the AI to remind him every two minutes. He'd probably get annoyed with her, but she wasn't about to let her dinner get cold waiting on him.

 

"What in the hell are you playing at?" Tony yelled as he made his way into the kitchen. "One announcement will be enough. I don't need FRIDAY hounding me every few minutes."

"Why didn't you tell her to stop?" YN asked, not at all fazed by the angry man standing before her.

Tony watched her ladle what appeared to be a red sauce over a bed of pasta. As the aroma of the spaghetti wafted his way, his stomach reminded him that it had been hours since he'd eaten. Momentarily distracted, he forgot his question as he followed her to the bar on the other side of the kitchen island.

"Tony?" YN asked, concerned that he'd seemed to be in some sort of trance.

"Huh?" he asked, his eyes finally leaving the plate of food and focusing on hers again.

"I asked why you didn't have FRIDAY stop reminding you," she repeated as she moved his crutches to the side after he'd taken a seat.

"Oh," he said, waving his hand in annoyance. "She refused to stop because you'd instructed her to do it. She then informed me that I had entered into a binding verbal agreement with you concerning meals and bed times, so you had the final authority on those matters."

She desperately tried to hide her smile as she took a seat next to him. "Wait. You're telling me that if I ask FRIDAY to do something concerning eating and sleeping, you can't override her?"

"Unfortunately, yes," he said with a sneer.

"That's hilarious," she said as her resolve failed and she began to laugh.

Tony wanted to stay angry, but once he heard her laugh, he found himself wanting to say or do anything that would ensure he could continue to hear it. He hadn't had a reason to laugh in so long, and he realized that he missed being able to have fun. Being an Avenger used to be fun, but after the Mandarin and Ultron, he'd found it hard to find joy in being Iron Man anymore. Before he could stop himself, he began to laugh along with her, and for the first time in what felt like forever, a weight seemed to lift from his shoulders.

Their laughter soon died and they began to eat in a comfortable silence. He knew he should have been surprised that the meal was exceptional – it was just spaghetti. Maybe it was a combination of the fact that he was starving and she was an extremely lovely dinner companion. Either way, he was glad that she was there.

"You survived an entire meal with no tech," she said as she began to clear the plates. "I'm impressed."

Grabbing his crutches, he raised a brow in annoyance. "Ha, ha. I can act civilized when I need to."

Completely unfazed by his sarcasm, she gave him a snarky smile. "I don't care if it's an act or not. I'm here to do a job, and I intend to do it well. If you'll work with me, I promise this weekend will go by quickly and then I'll be out of you hair forever."

"I showed up for dinner, didn't I?" he asked. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm heading back to the lab. I still have a few hours of work."

"Ten o'clock," she told his retreating back.

"What?"

"Ten o'clock," she repeated as he turned back to look at her. "That's what time you're going to bed. I can either come down to the lab or I can have FRIDAY remind you."

Without breaking eye contact he barked an order to the AI. "FRIDAY, set a reminder at ten that it's my bedtime."

He didn't wait for her to respond as he entered the elevator car and went back to his lab. Chalking this evening up as a success, she went back to the kitchen to finish cleaning up. Tony Stark was a hard man to get along with. She knew he was close to fifty, but looking into his eyes, she'd seen a man twice that age staring back at her. Being an Avenger was taking it's toll on him. She liked to think that she was good at reading people, and from what she'd observed this evening, Tony was a man that liked to pretend he didn't care. She might be wrong, but she'd be willing to bet that his biggest problem was that he cared too much.

Finishing up the kitchen, she asked FRIDAY to show her to her room. The AI led her back onto the elevator and took her to the eighty-fifth floor. From there, lights along the floorboards blinked in succession leading her to a door about halfway down the hall.

YN was completely unprepared for the room on the other side of the door. She'd stayed in dozens of guest rooms throughout her career, but this room topped them all. A quick glance in the bathroom confirmed her suspicions that it came equipped with a jacuzzi tub. She knew how she'd be spending the rest of her evening.

 

A nice long bath with her book turned out to be much better than her original plan to curl up on her ancient couch with a blanket. Maybe this weekend wouldn't be so bad after all.

She was just turning down the covers on the bed when the AI startled her. "Ms. YLN, Mr. Stark is leaving the lab now and heading to his room. He's requesting that you come tuck him and read him a bedtime story."

YN shook her head in annoyance, but she had a smile plastered on her face. Just when she thought this gig wouldn't be that bad, she was reminded that she was babysitting a grown man with a snarky sense of humor.

"Lead me to his room," YN instructed the AI once she'd grabbed a worn-out copy of _Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone_.

She hadn't been surprised when FRIDAY had led her back to the elevator. Of course Tony Stark would have an entire floor all to himself in the tower. She knew without having to ask that this was one of the floors that would be restricted to her unless Tony himself granted her access.

Exiting the elevator she found herself in an exact replica of the common room. She would have thought that FRIDAY had taken her to the wrong floor if not for the smaller dining room table. It made sense, in a way, that Tony would want the two living areas to be set up the same way – it was less work on his part to remember where everything was.

Taking a right off of the elevator, she came to a closed door. A sudden burst of nervousness gripped her heart in a vice and for a second she considered heading back to the elevator. This whole situation was strange and as much as Clint had told her to treat Tony like a child, he was a grown man and she was willingly walking into his bedroom.

"I know you're out there," Tony called from behind the closed door.

Unable to turn back, she opened the door to find Tony sitting up in the middle of his king sized bed eagerly awaiting her arrival.

"What book did you bring to read me?" he asked with a smirk.

She held up the book for him to see. " _Harry Potter_. Have you read it?"

"You seriously brought a book to read to me?"

"Of course I brought a book," she told him with a confused look on her face. "You had FRIDAY summon me, so I grabbed a book and came down here. Wait. If you didn't think I was bringing a book, then why did you think I came?"

She was completely confused by the situation, but when a chagrinned look came over his face, she finally realized what was going on. "Oh, no you didn't. Please tell me you didn't actually think I was going to sleep with you."

Not waiting for an answer, she marched back toward the door, yelling at him over her shoulder as she left. "You know what? Never-mind. I don't need an answer to that question. You're disgusting, did you know that?"

"Wait a second," Tony called out. He wanted to get up and run after her, but by the time he got his crutches, he knew she'd be halfway to her room. "I'm sorry. Really. Please don't go."

She had one hand on the doorknob, ready to walk away, but there was something in his tone that had her reconsidering. "Give me one good reason not to."

She still hadn't turned around to face him and he was worried that he'd gone too far. "I'm a pig. I know it, everyone knows it. I had FRIDAY summon you as a joke, and when you actually showed up, my mind went straight to the gutter. Can you forgive me?"

Finally turning around to face him, she was surprised to see fear in his eyes. Her heart broke for a moment as she realized that he was simply a lonely man. She knew he'd been with Pepper Potts for the past few years, but anyone could tell from the state of this room that she'd been gone for some time now.

"You really need to rest," she told him, still not moving away from the door. "Is there anything I can get for you before you go to bed? A glass of water?"

"I have some pain meds on the nightstand," he told her with a nod to his left.

Her brow creased as she studied him. "You don't look like you're in pain. Do you really need one?"

"Not really," he admitted, "but they help me sleep."

"I may be out of line, but isn't that a glass of whiskey by the bed?"

He glanced toward the glass of amber liquid she was currently eyeing and shrugged his shoulders. "It hasn't killed me yet."

"You'll have to forgive me if I don't want you to wind up dead on my watch because you were stupid enough to mix alcohol and narcotics." She strode toward the nightstand and grabbed the glass of whiskey.

She could hear him protesting from the bedroom as she poured the alcohol down the sink. Wrinkling her nose in disgust, she looked around the filthy bathroom and wondered how long it had been since someone had been in to clean. Surely a man with as much money as Tony Stark could afford a cleaning service. She filled the glass up with water from the tap and made her way back to the bedroom.

"That glass of whiskey cost more than you'll make here all weekend," he told her with a glare.

"I think you can handle the loss," she told him as she moved toward a chair and began throwing the clothes piled up on it in the floor.

"What are you doing?"

She tossed a glance over her shoulder. "Is there a difference between this pile of dirty clothes and the other dozen piles scattered across the room?"

"Not what I meant."

"I know what you meant. I was just trying to make a point." Finally getting the chair clear, she sat down and tucked her legs up under her. "I figured that since I was here, I'd try to help you fall asleep."

"YN," he chastised.

"Shut up and close your eyes," she told him as she opened the book up to the first chapter. "This works for all of my kids, it's bound to work on you. _Mr. and Mrs. Dursley, of number four, Privet Drive, were proud to say that they were perfectly normal, thank you very much. They were the last people you'd expect to be involved in anything strange or mysterious, because they just didn't hold with such nonsense_."

Tired of fighting with her, he did as she instructed. She had a lovely voice and in spite of himself he found that he was actually enjoying the story.

She had just finished the first chapter when she heard Tony begin to lightly snore. Pausing for a moment to make sure he wasn't faking, she closed her book and made her way back to her room.

 

Waking early, as was her routine, she took a moment to clear her sleep-clouded mind and remember where she was today. One of the downsides of being a nanny was that she always woke up confused and disoriented until she could remind herself where she was.

Taking a chance, she spoke aloud. "FRIDAY? Where is Tony?"

"He's currently in his lab, Ms. YLN," the AI answered.

She glanced over at the clock to recheck the time. "How long has he been awake?"

"Mr. Stark has been awake since 4:30."

She did some mental calculations. "Six hours. Not too bad."

Getting up, she quickly made the bed and went into the bathroom to change clothes and brush her teeth. She always tried to do some type of morning workout, so she grabbed her yoga mat and headed to the common room. Just as she'd thought, the balcony had an amazing view of the sunrise. This high above the city, the strong breeze kept the mid-summer temperatures from being too stifling, but by the time she was finished, she'd worked up quite a sweat.

Once she'd finished her workout and took a shower, she headed back to the kitchen. "FRIDAY, what does Tony like for breakfast?"

"Mr. Stark has a particular fondness for blueberries."

"Hmm," she thought aloud, "blueberry pancakes sound pretty good to me."

Finding the ingredients she needed, she began making the batter. While she waited for the griddle to warm, she placed some sausage patties in a frying pan on the stove.

"FRIDAY, please let Tony know that breakfast is ready," she told the AI as she poured the batter onto the griddle, the smell of the pancake making her mouth water.

She was a little surprised when Tony appeared before the pancakes were finished. "That was quick."

"FRIDAY said you were making blueberry pancakes," he told her as he sat on the bar stool and waited for his plate.

"Did you sleep well?" she asked as she set the plates and moved around to take a seat beside him.

"Can't believe I'm going to say this, but I think that story actually helped."

"Maybe you can have FRIDAY start reading you a bedtime story once I leave," she teased.

"Ha ha," he snarked before he took a bite of his pancake and let out an audible moan. "Good God, woman. What did you put in these?"

"I have a secret ingredient," she told him with a wink before she turned back to her breakfast.

"I'm great at keeping secrets," he said, holding up three fingers to signify the Boy Scout sign.

She gave him a sideways glance. "I seem to recall a certain press conference where you outed yourself as being Iron Man. Most superheroes like to keep their real identity a secret."

"Okay, so maybe I'm horrible at keeping secrets."

"And that's why I'm not sharing my recipe with you."

"Hmph," he muttered. "I was planning to show you my lab today, but I'm rethinking that idea."

Knowing she may not understand half of what he did in his lab, she still wanted a chance to see behind the scenes. It would be like looking behind the curtain in _The Wizard of Oz_ , but she was sure she wouldn't be disappointed like Dorothy had been. Tony was known for his ground-breaking tech and she was dying to get a peek at how everything worked.

"Vinegar," she said after a moment.

"What?"

"My secret ingredient is vinegar," she repeated.

Tony looked down at his empty plate in confusion. "Why?"

"You're the scientist," she told him as she grabbed the plates and headed toward the sink. "Figure it out."

He stared off into the distance for a moment. "You put baking soda in the batter, don't you? The vinegar reacts with the baking soda and that's what makes them so fluffy."

"And people say that cooking isn't a science."

"Come on," he called over his shoulder as he headed back toward the elevators. "I've got something I want to show you."

She closed the door on the dishwasher and eagerly followed him. He gave her a cocky smile as she entered the elevator car and he moved his arm so the doors could close behind her.

This time when she walked through the lab, she really paid attention to what she was seeing. Last night she'd been so focused on him, she barely noticed her surroundings.

He stopped in front of a table and motioned for her to come closer. "Take a look at this."

"What am I looking at," she asked, her hands clasped behind her back so she wouldn't be tempted to pick up anything she wasn't supposed to.

"I'm working on a new design for my repulsors," he told as he picked up one of the objects on the table. "These are self-stabilizing so I won't be knocked off balance if I take another nasty hit."

"Is that what happened to your leg?" she asked.

He looked down at his injured leg in disgust. "Something like that."

"You're not going to tell me?"

He gave her a hard look, his eyes narrowing as he contemplated her question. "You'll laugh at me. I don't like when people laugh at me."

"I won't laugh," she assured him. "I promise."

"Fine," he huffed as he pulled up the schematics of his suit on the virtual display. "I took an RPG to the chest from some HYDRA goon and I couldn't regain my balance. I ended up flying right in front of Thor who was in mid-swing with that damned hammer. If I'd taken the hit on the thigh, I'd have been fine, but it came down on the knee joint. Good thing is that I learned those areas are more vulnerable to attack, so I'm adding some reinforcements there. . ."

He stopped talking as he heard a muffled chuckle. Turning back to glare at her, he found her completely red-faced as she struggled to contain her laughter.

"You promised," he reminded her.

"I know," she said with a pleading look, "but the thought of you flying through the air and getting beamed with Thor's hammer is just too funny."

He rolled his eyes and went back to his schematic. "You're just like the rest of them – they thought it was hilarious, too."

She laid a hand on his arm. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have laughed. Please show me the new repulsors."

He looked down at her hand on his arm before meeting her hopeful gaze. "I actually need someone to help me test them out."

"You're not going to try to get into the suit right now, are you?" she asked, instantly concerned that he was going to further injure himself.

"I'm reckless, not stupid," he informed her. "I want you to test them for me."

"I'm sorry, what did you say?"

"It's perfectly safe," he assured her as he handed her a set of hand-held repulsors. "Just slip those on like a a pair of gloves."

She did as she was told, although now she was concerned with her own safety. "Just the hands?"

He shook his head as he nodded toward two more repulsors on the table. "Those will slide over your shoes. Put them on and head to the test pad in the corner."

"I'm not so sure about this, Tony," she told him as she grabbed the other two repulsors and followed him toward the corner of the room.

"I won't let anything happen to you," he told her as turned around, leaning on his crutches so he could place his hands on her shoulders. "Do you trust me?"

"Not as far as I can throw you," she admitted with a shrug.

He gave her another dramatic eye roll and started back toward the test pad. "Cynics."

She stood in the middle of the test pad and warily eyed the two repulsors in her hand. She'd be lying to herself if she didn't admit that she was actually a little excited to try this out. Making up her mind, she slipped the repulsors over her shoes and looked expectantly at Tony.

"What now?" she asked, anxious to get started.

"Let me finish this," he told her as he made some adjustments on one of the virtual displays. "Okay, are you ready?"

"No," she admitted, "but let's do it anyway."

"Atta girl," he said with a huge smile. "FRIDAY, give me two percent repulsor power."

Immediately YN could feel the repulsors come to life and she held out her hands like she'd seen Tony do in the news footage she'd watched over the years. Two percent was a mere fraction of the power these devices were capable of, but she could still feel herself gently rising off of the ground. The pounding of her heart was drowning out all of the other sounds around her as she struggled to keep her nerves in check.

"I'm flying!"

"Yes you are," he told her as he keyed in something on his display.

YN felt something hit her in the back and she was momentarily knocked off balance. She let out a little scream of panic before the repulsors adjusted and she found herself upright again at the edge of the pad. Looking over her shoulder she saw some type of robot with an extendable mechanical claw moving toward her.

"What the hell, Tony? Did you have that thing try to knock me over?"

"That's Dum-E," he informed her, his eyes never leaving the display. "He's pretty useless most of the time, but every now and then he does what he's told."

YN looked back over her shoulder to see the robot waving his claw as though saying "hello." "You named your robot?"

Tony looked up from the display with an affronted look on his face. "I've had Dum-E for about thirty years now. Built him in dad's workshop back in the eighties. I keep threatening to donate him to a city college. He has a bad habit of dousing me with a fire extinguisher. . .when I'm not on fire."

"Sounds like you two have a complicated history."

Thinking about it for a second he shrugged his shoulders. "Something like that." He turned back to his monitor and checked a few things. "So, are you ready for some more power?"

Her stomach did a flip. "I'm not so sure about that, Tony."

"You've got this," he told her as his fingers moved across the virtual display. "FRIDAY, increase power to five percent."

YN felt the repulsor power increase and she began to lift higher off of the ground. At this point, she was probably only about six inches off the ground, but she was still nervous. "Are you going to have Dum-E hit. . .?"

She was interrupted by the robot sweeping her legs out from under her. She had a moment of panic as she felt herself falling backward, but before she knew what was happening she was upright again.

"What just happened?"

"Exactly what I'd hoped would happen," he explained with a cocky grin. "These new repulsors will make it impossible for me to lose my balance. Hence, no more accidental encounters with Thor's hammer."

"Are we finished, then?"

"Yep," he said. With a flick of his finger, the virtual display disappeared and he started hobbling toward her. "FRIDAY, slowly lower the power on the repulsors."

YN could feel herself start to gradually descend back to the test pad. As much fun as it had been, she was glad to be back on solid ground again. She slipped the repulsors off her hand and then leaned over to get the ones off of her feet. Tony nodded toward the work station, so she walked over and tried to find a place to set them down.

"Tony, this place is an absolute mess. How do you find anything around here?"

He'd followed her over and sat back down on his stool. Instead of answering her, he just shrugged his shoulders and cleared a space in front of him for her to lay the repulsors.

"Tony," she chided. "You really need to organize this place."

"It's fine," he argued. "I don't need to pick up my toys."

"Yes, you do," she said in her no-nonsense nanny tone. "You're sidelined due to the leg injury and you've already solved the repulsor problem. Why not take some time and clean up your space. You'll probably be able to think better and be more efficient if everything is in its place. I can tell from the bins and drawers that its not normally this messy."

He took a long, hard look around his workshop and realized that she was right. He wasn't sure when things had gotten so bad – well, he knew exactly when it had started, but over the past few months, it had steadily gotten worse. Without someone there to remind him to clean up after himself, he tended to get caught up in his work and forget about it. Maybe YN was right and it was time to put his life back in order, or at least his workspace.

"Fine," he told her with another eye roll. "I'm going to need some help, though. These crutches make it damn near impossible to carry anything."

"That's fine," she said with a smile. "I don't mind helping at all. It'll give me something to do while I'm here. You just tell me where it all goes, and I'll put it away."

Grateful that she was willing to help him, he began to tell her where things were supposed to go. As they went, he explained how certain things worked, or what a specific tool was designed for. She seemed be truly fascinated with the inner workings of his suits, and although some of the tech was over her head, she seemed to understand the basics.

Spending time with her wasn't as bad as he'd thought it would be when he had first realized what Barton and Romanoff had done to him. She had a great sense of humor, and didn't shy away from calling him out on his bullshit. She wasn't too hard on the eyes, either. It had been a while since he'd looked at a woman that way. He'd thought after Pepper, he'd be able to jump back into his playboy persona, but the vapid bimbos that had previously attracted him didn't hold any appeal for him anymore. He realized that Pepper had ruined him for meaningless, one-night stands, and now he actually wanted a woman who could hold an intelligent conversation with him. YN was just that kind of woman.

Once the workshop was neat and organized, YN announced that it was time for lunch.

"What do you want to eat?" she asked him as she started toward the elevator.

"How can it be lunchtime already?" he asked in confusion.

"Tony," she said with a laugh. "We've been organizing the lab for over three hours. Aren't you starving?"

"I guess I'm just used to delving into a project and forgetting to come up for air."

"And that's why Clint and Ms. Romanoff hired me," she reminded him. "You need to take better care of yourself, Tony. How can you be any good to the world if you constantly work yourself to death and forgot to eat and sleep?"

"I've had a lot on my mind lately," he told her, alluding to his breakup without actually saying it out loud.

"Life can be hard sometimes," she told him as the elevator came to a stop, "but if you ignore a problem it's only going to fester. It's okay to have bad days, but at some point, you need to get back into a routine. You may not feel better at first, but being able to control your physical surroundings will help keep you balanced."

"I know what you're saying is true," he admitted, "and everyone has been trying to tell me that. I guess I just have a tendency to self-destruct. At least that's what my therapist keeps telling me."

As they exited the elevator, she looked around in confusion. "Wait. This isn't the common room."

He shrugged his shoulders as he moved toward the kitchen on his personal floor. "There's no sense in using that one when mine is just one floor up."

"I guess that makes sense," she said as she walked toward the refrigerator and perused its contents. "How about some hot ham and cheese sandwiches? Do you have a panini press?"

"It's in the cabinet to your right," he told her as he seated himself on one of the bar stools.

"Once we eat lunch I think we should tackle that bedroom," she told him as she plugged the machine into an outlet and set out the ingredients for the sandwiches.

"Do we have to?"

She gave him a stern look over her shoulder. "Yes. Your workshop is nice and neat, now it's time for the bedroom."

She busied herself with putting the sandwiches together and placing them into the panini press. While they were cooking, she took down a couple of plates and found a bag of chips.

Tony watched in silence as she effortlessly moved around his kitchen. He normally hated being dependent on anyone, but she didn't make it seem like an imposition. Then he remembered that she was getting paid to take care of him, so of course she wouldn't balk at cooking and cleaning for him. He realized he might as well take advantage of the situation and enjoy her company while it lasted.

While they ate, Tony asked her about her life. Other than being a professional nanny, he knew next to nothing about her. He could have asked FRIDAY to dig into her background, but he found that liked hearing her talk about her life.

Once they were finished, she rinsed the plates and placed them in the dishwasher. Snapping her fingers at him, she nodded toward the bedroom and headed that way, sure that he would be quick to follow. She wasn't wrong.

"Okay," she said as she surveyed the room. "Is there any method to this madness, or do we just dive in?"

"Just dive in."

"Great," she said, not sounding the least bit excited to start. "Do you have a washing machine on this floor?"

"It's in the closet to your right," he told her, nodding in that direction.

"Why don't you have a seat in the chair and I can start sorting through this mess," she told him as she started sifting through a pile of clothes laying on the dresser.

"The washer has a twenty minute quick clean cycle if that helps," he told her as he eased himself down into the chair.

"Perfect," she said as she grabbed an armful of darks and headed toward the closet. "What about the bed? When was the last time the sheets were changed?"

Tony's brow furrowed as he tried to remember. "I honestly have no idea."

"Don't you have a cleaning lady?" she asked after she'd put the first load of laundry in the washing machine.

"I fired her," Tony admitted. "I sleep at odd hours and she kept coming in and waking me up."

"Well, I suggest once we get this place clean you give her a call. If she won't come back, then you need to hire someone else."

"She still cleans the rest of the tower," he told her. "She's just not allowed on this floor or the one below. I had FRIDAY revoke her access."

Rolling her eyes at him, she began to strip the sheets from the bed. "Where are the clean sheets?"

"In the linen closet in the bathroom."

Dumping the dirty sheets in the floor of the closet, she walked back to the bathroom and turned on the light. "Ugh. I forgot how filthy this bathroom was."

"How much extra do you want for cleaning it?" Tony asked hopefully.

She came back out with a set of sheets in her arms. "I'm not sure you can afford it."

Throwing back his head, he began to laugh. "Name your price and I'll pay it."

Shaking her head, she began to put the clean sheets on the bed. Once she'd finished making up the bed, the buzzer on the washer signaled the end of the cycle. Going back to the closet, she moved the first load to the dryer and added the sheets to the second load.

"I'm going to tackle that bathroom while that load is washing," she informed him. "Once the bathroom is clean, you're taking a shower. I'm not sure how long it's been, and I hate to be rude, but you're starting to stink a bit."

"Hey," he protested, lifting his arm up to sniff himself. With a grimace, he realized that she was right. "Touché."

She disappeared into the bathroom and he could hear her searching through cabinets until she found the cleaning supplies under the sink. Bored sitting in his bedroom alone, he asked FRIDAY to turn on some music as he leaned his head back and closed his eyes for a second.

 

"Tony," YN whispered, gently shaking him. "Tony, you need to wake up."

"Huh? What?"

"You fell asleep," she told him as his eyes finally opened and focused on her. "I finished cleaning the bathroom. You need to get up and get a shower while I finish the laundry."

"Okay," he said, still groggy from the nap. "How long was I out?"

"About an hour," she told him as she went back to the closet to put another load of dirty clothes in the washer. "I wasn't sure where everything went, but since there were a ton of empty hangers in the closet, I just hung up everything. You can always put things where they belong later."

Grabbing his crutches, he started toward the bathroom. "Wherever's fine."

"Works for me."

He stopped in the doorway and turned back to her. "Would you mind grabbing me a clean set of clothes?"

"Sure, no problem."

Tony felt a bit odd undressing with her just on the other side of the door, but he reminded himself that she was a professional. He wouldn't have protested too much if she'd decided to join him, but glancing down at the multicolored bruise that extended from mid-thigh down to his ankle, he realized that shower sex was out of the question at the moment. Laughing at himself, he turned on the shower and stepped under the hot spray.

YN began to get worried when Tony wasn't out of the shower after thirty minutes. Scared that he'd fallen, she lightly tapped on the bathroom door.

"Tony? Are you alright in there?" She heard the shower go off and breathed a sigh of relief.

"I'm fine," he called through the closed door. "The hot water felt too good to get out."

"Okay," she said with a little laugh. "Just checking."

By the time Tony made it out of the bathroom, she was just putting the last load of laundry in the dryer. She could see billows of steam rolling out behind him and it instantly made her long for the jacuzzi tub in her own room upstairs. Her back was sore from all the lifting and carrying she'd done today, and she longed to be finished so she relax for a bit.

"Wow," he said as he took a look around his room. "You've been busy. Are you sure I can't just hire you to be my cleaning lady. You're a helluva lot quicker and definitely a lot better looking."

Rolling her eyes at him, she let out a soft chuckle. "Like I said, you can't afford me. Anyway, I'm just about finished here. I'm going to go grab a bath and then I'll be back to put away that last load of laundry."

"I think I'll head back to the lab and tinker around a bit," he told her as he followed her toward the elevator.

"Don't go messing up all of my hard work," she warned him.

"Wouldn't dream of it," he said with a wink as the doors of the elevator opened. "Take your time. I'll be in the lab until its time for dinner."

"Have fun," she said as the doors shut and she pushed the button to call the second elevator to take her to her floor.

The jacuzzi tub was just what she needed after the day she'd just put in. While it wasn't technically her job to do laundry and clean bathrooms, she knew it was what Tony needed to help him get back to his former self. She just hoped that she had helped him in some small way. He put his life on the line every time he put on that suit, and she hated seeing him so worn out and exhausted.

Curling up in the oversized chair by the window of her bedroom, she tried to get into the book she was reading, but she just couldn't focus. Her thoughts kept going back to the man a few floors below her.

Finally giving up, she laid the book on the nightstand and headed toward the lab. She knew she should be worried that she craved his company, but she pushed aside those thoughts and followed her instincts.

She found him just as she imagined – music blaring and his workstation a complete mess. The music instantly muted as soon as she entered the lab. She'd wondered whether it had been him or FRIDAY that had granted her access to his personal floors, but when she saw the confused look on his face when the music stopped, she deduced that it had been FRIDAY. The AI seemed to have a mind of its own and had decided that she needed access to him. She'd even turned the music off for her. Either Tony was a genius or a madman for creating such sophisticated tech that could think for itself.

When he turned around and saw her walking toward him, he couldn't stop the smile from spreading across his face. "It's not dinner time yet, is it?"

"No," she said as she pulled up a stool beside him. "I just wanted to come down and see what you were working on. I thought you might need my help again."

He recognized the flimsy excuse for what it was, but chose to ignore it. Truth be told, he'd been trying to find a reason to ask her to join him since he'd come down. He should have been scared at how quickly she'd grown on him, but he was too happy _being_ happy to care about it.

He quickly shoved away his misgivings and started to show her what he was working on. He pulled up the virtual display and magnified the schematic. As he explained, she began to lean toward him to get a better look. Turning to say something to her, he found himself almost nose to nose with her.

As she turned to face him, he forgot what he was about to say. His eyes stayed locked on hers as they stared at one another in silence for a moment. His heart began to race and before he could stop himself, he closed the distance between them and captured her lips with his.

Surprised that he'd actually kissed her, her hands came up to rest on his shoulders as she tried to balance herself on the edge of the stool. Her eyes closed as she began to lose herself in the kiss. She'd known Tony had a reputation for being a ladies man, and after about five seconds into the kiss, she realized why.

He hadn't realized how starved for affection he'd been until he'd gotten a taste of her. She'd proven to be a balm to his soul so many times this weekend, and he was desperate to lose himself in her so she could help smooth out the rough edges he'd developed over the past few months.

Just as he was about to suggest they move this to a location better suited to their needs, the sound of his phone broke the spell.

"Sorry to interrupt, Boss," FRIDAY said, "but Ms. Potts is on the line."

"Tell her I'm busy," Tony barked at the AI.

Scared that the mood had been ruined, he looked at YN expectantly. Before he could say anything to her, he was interrupted again.

"I'm sorry, Boss, but she's insistent that she speak to you right now."

"It's fine, Tony," YN said as she pulled away from him and rose from her stool. "Take the call."

"YN, wait," he called after her. "I don't need to take the call."

She turned around, hopeful that he would choose her over his ex. "Are you sure?"

He never got a chance to answer her though. Just as he was about to speak, Pepper's voice came over the PA system.

"Tony, for God's sake, answer the phone," Pepper said. "I know you're not busy. . ."

YN didn't stick around to hear the rest of the conversation. Tony's attention had shifted away from her, and she chided herself for being such a fool. Needing some time away from him, she called for the elevator to go back to her room. As the doors opened, she was shocked to see a car full of battered and filthy Avengers.

"YN," Clint said with a tired smile. "You survived."

"It was touch and go there for a while," she said, trying to use humor to hide the sudden heartache she was feeling. "I didn't think you would be back this soon."

"I'm not sure if we're getting better at what we do, or if HYDRA is becoming more inept, but the situation was easier to handle than we'd originally thought," Clint told her. "Anyway, we thought we should check on you and Tony before we head to the showers. FRIDAY said the two of you were in the lab and we got a little worried."

"Did you think he was experimenting on me?" she asked with a chuckle.

Natasha gave her a look that indicated that was exactly what they'd thought. YN turned back to look into the lab, but Tony was oblivious to what was going on in the hallway. He had his back to them, leaning against the window as he appeared to be arguing with his ex on the phone.

"We did the repulsor experiment this morning," she told them, trying to keep the mood light.

"He didn't actually have you try out the repulsors, did he?" Captain Rogers asked in concern.

"It was fine," she assured him. "He only had them up to five percent power. I was barely six inches off the ground."

Clint began to chuckle. "Typical Stark."

Natasha narrowed her eyes as she scanned the room beyond the glass. "This place looks a lot neater than it did last night. Did you get him to clean?"

"Actually, I did," she told the other woman. "I also cleaned his bathroom, washed the dirty laundry and changed the bed."

"Did you get him to sleep any?" Captain Rogers asked, obviously impressed with her.

"After I read him a bedtime story," she said with a grin.

"You're joking," Natasha said, narrowing her eyes at YN. "No, you're not. You actually read him a bedtime story."

Clint held a hand over his heart as his eyes grew wide with mirth. "Dear God, woman, you're a miracle worker."

"Nope," YN disagreed. "Just a professional nanny. You guys told me to treat him like an overgrown child and I did."

YN forced herself to forget about the last few minutes she'd spent with Tony. She definitely hadn't been thinking about him like a child when she'd kissed him back. They'd been two grown adults giving in to temptation. She'd forgotten for a moment that she was being paid to take care of him, not to sleep with him. Suddenly ashamed of what she'd done, she was anxious to get as far away from Tony and the Avengers Tower as she could.

"Since you guys are back, I'm going to go ahead and take off, if that's okay with you?"

"Sure, sure," Clint said, still in awe that she'd accomplished so much in such a short amount of time. "I'll have the rest of your fee transferred into your bank account this evening."

"Thank you," she said as she pushed the button for the elevator again.

The three Avengers started to go into Tony's lab, and YN almost didn't say anything, but she thought they deserved to be warned. "He's on the phone with Ms. Potts. You might want to give him a minute. I don't think he was too happy to get her call."

The three of them gave each another knowing looks before turning back toward the elevators. Clint gave her a salute as the doors began to close.

In a rush to get out of the tower, she threw her belongings in her bag and hurried back to the elevator. She wanted to make it out before she had to face Tony again. Now that she'd had time to think about her behavior, she was deeply ashamed of herself. She also wasn't sure what the phone call from Pepper was all about. She'd seen how hard he'd taken the breakup, so she was pretty sure that if Pepper wanted him back, he'd be all too willing to rekindle their relationship. It wasn't as if she and Tony had something serious going on, but she still didn't want to hear the rejection speech she was sure he was going to give her. It would be better – for both of them – if she just disappeared from his life.

 

YN had been restless the entire evening as she roamed her apartment looking for something to do. She'd already washed a few loads of laundry and cleaned the entire space, not wanting to sit down for fear of her thoughts overwhelming her. She'd barely spent any time with the man at all and somehow he'd wormed his way into her heart and mind. She'd always had a weakness for wounded animals, and that's exactly what he was right now. He wasn't only hurt physically, but emotionally as well, and she was desperate to try to help him.

She had been angry at first when they'd been interrupted, but in hindsight she realized that it was probably for the best that things hadn't gone any farther than they had. Tony was the type of man who could have a steamy a one-night stand and never think of it again, but she just wasn't built like that – she never had been. If she'd ended up in his bed, it would have broken her to have him brush her off in the morning.

Realizing that her plan of keeping her hands busy so her mind wouldn't wander had failed, she gave in and collapsed on the couch. She'd had an exhausting day, and then she'd come home and tried to keep going to save her sanity.

Finally letting her mind go where it so desperately wanted, she replayed that kiss again and again. It had been a truly spectacular kiss, and she was sure it was going to rank number one in her mind for years to come. Too bad she had no chance whatsoever with him. He was so out of her league, it wasn't even funny. Not only was he one of the richest men in the world, he was also a superhero – he could have any woman in the world he wanted. Why on earth would he be interested in her? She was just a nanny who lived in an old, deteriorating, third floor walk-up in a sketchy neighborhood.

Not wanting to wallow in her own self-pity any longer, she let go and allowed herself to play out the fantasy. Maybe if she indulged in a few what-ifs, she could put this whole weekend behind her and get back to her normal, boring life.

 

"What the. . .," she cried out as she was dragged out of sleep by the pounding of her heart. At least she'd thought it was her heart, until she realized that someone was outside her door demanding to be let in.

"I'm coming, I'm coming," she called out as she struggled to calm her nerves. Rising from the couch, she made her way to the door and looked through the peephole. Her eyes grew large when she saw who was on the other side of the door.

"What are you doing here?" she demanded as she flung the door open.

"You left," Tony said, elbowing her aside so he could walk into her apartment. He looked around for a moment before finding a chair to sit in. "This place needs an elevator. Why don't you have an elevator? Do you know how hard it is to walk up three flights of stairs on crutches? I almost had a heart attack trying to get up here. Why in the world do you even live here? This is not a great part of town – I doubt I'll have hubcaps on the car when I get back to the curb. Hell, I might not even have a car waiting downstairs after five minutes in this neighborhood."

"Wait a second," she said, holding out a hand to stop his rambling diatribe. "Let me get this straight. You came all the way out here in the middle of the night because I left? Clint and the rest of the team came back, so of course I left – my job was done."

For a moment, she thought she saw a look of hurt flash in his eyes. Could he? No, it was impossible. She was letting her imagination get the better of her. This is why indulging in fantasies was a bad idea – it let you start hoping and when you start hoping, that's when reality comes crashing down.

"I guess you're right," he said after a moment. "I shouldn't have come."

She watched him start to get up to leave, and before she could stop herself, she reached out and grabbed his arm. "Wait. You didn't come all the way over here just so you could say goodbye to me."

He looked into her eyes as though he was searching for the answer to a question she didn't know. Those amber colored depths were full of hope – something she hadn't seen in him all weekend. She'd seen despair and pain, but now, seeing him here looking so vulnerable, she was certain that he'd come to her because he wanted to be with her.

"We were interrupted," he whispered. "I was really looking forward to seeing where things would lead."

She raised an eyebrow. "We were interrupted by your ex."

"We were interrupted by the CEO of Stark Industries," he clarified. "There was an emergency that she needed my input on, nothing more."

"Are you sure there's nothing more?" she asked.

"I'd thought there might be," he explained as he grabbed her hip and pulled her a little closer to him. "But then you showed up, and I realized I have a type."

"Oh, is that right?" she asked, suddenly offended. "I'll have you know that I'm not some vapid little bimbo that's going be content to be your arm candy."

He gave her one of those heart-stopping smiles. "No, I don't expect you will be, and that's what I love about you. You're a strong, independent woman who doesn't let anyone push her around – not even me, and I'm an expert in pushing people around. I need someone who will call me out on my bullshit, and still make me blueberry pancakes for breakfast, even when I'm acting like an ass."

"Tony," she said, still hesitant about giving in. "We come from different worlds. . ."

"Thor and Jane Foster _literally_ come from different worlds and they're making it work," he argued. "We're just from different boroughs."

"What will your friends think if you start dating the nanny?"

"Clint was the one who demanded I come over here tonight."

"What?" she asked, completely confused. "Why?"

"When I found out you'd left, he saw how upset I was and realized – before I did – that I'd fallen for you." His balanced himself on one crutch as he slid a hand around her back to pull her flush against him. "He told me I'd be a fool to let you walk out of my life, and he's right. I've been a fool too many times in my life, and it's time that changed."

Deciding that playing it safe wasn't going to get her anywhere in life, she cupped his face in her hands and leaned in to brush her lips over his. "I'm never cleaning that bathroom again, just so you know. The cleaning lady starts again on Monday."

"Yes, dear," he said as his lips ghosted over her jaw and continued down her neck. "Now please tell me there's a bed around here somewhere. I don't know how much longer I can stay balanced on these crutches."

"Follow me," she told him with a wink as she pulled away from him and headed toward a door on the other side of the room.

"Anywhere, sweetheart," he whispered. "I'll follow you anywhere."

**Author's Note:**

> _Thank you for reading this story!  I posted the first part of Iron Will on Thanksgiving last year, and the idea for the story wouldn’t leave me alone until I wrote it, so I guess this is going to become a tradition. I’m thinking about calling it Starksgiving. . .what do you think? What was your favorite part? I look forward to your comments!_


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